This Past Weekend

This past weekend we headed out of town with some friends.  There were 6 of us all together (all adults!), and we stayed at Kidani Village at Disney.  We used our timeshare points and splurged on a 3 bedroom Villa.  It was sooo worth it!!!  It was our last hoorah before our kids had to go back to school!

Here are some photos of our villa.

Main Living Room. 

Main Living Room looking towards the kitchen

Upstairs loft

Master Bedroom Bathroom (there was a TV on the wall!)

Guest Bedroom #1

Balcony



The balcony was massive.  It ran the entire length of our villa, and both guestrooms had their own balcony upstairs.  The best part was the view from the balcony!

The animals were constantly walking by.  It was a great location for us to be. 

We spent the day at the pool, which since it was so hot, was the perfect place to be.  A few brave persons even battled all of the little kids to go down the pool slide!

Here comes Kelly

Followed by Michon

I wish I had taken a photograph of the kitchen once we all got there.  We brought the blendtec with us of course and lots of liquor.  Seeing that there were only 6 of us, the amount of alcohol we had was shameful!  

A good time was had by all and as always, the weekend came to an end too quickly!  I think it needs to be an annual get together!



Just Cruisin'

At the end of March we took a cruise with friends to celebrate our birthday.  Mine and Jeff's birthdays that is.  Yes, we share the same birthday, March 30th. 

The day that we left was not a good day weather wise.  It had been raining all morning, very windy and with worse weather following.  We only had to drive to Tampa, so we didn't worry too much about it.  I even decided to drive.  What we hadn't anticipated was that the weather 30 minutes North of us was even worse. 

The area where we were to turn off the interstate, actually has 5 exits that you can take.  I needed to take the second exit.  As I approached, you could see that traffic was at a stand still up ahead, which meant getting to the second exit, wasn't happening.  So, I took the first exit knowing my GPS would get me where I needed to be. 

As we turned off, the first thing we came across was a huge tree laying across the road.  Then another one.  As I started to wonder what the heck, I merged onto the main road and realized that something major had occurred.  There were trees down everywhere, power was out, so there were no traffic lights and a small farmers market looked like it had been demolished on the side of the road. 

I followed the directions from our GPS and headed back over the highway into Tampa.  I made it about a quarter mile before I started seeing cars stopping and turning around.  A tractor trailer had been blown over the overpass, so it was closed.  We turned back around and headed another direction.  This forced me to have to go through an intersection with 4 lanes of traffic each way, and no traffic signal.  And even though people are supposed to treat that as a 4 way stop, no one did.  I finally just told everyone to hang on, close your eyes and pray because I had to make a left turn through all of that. 

Eventually we did make it to the ship.  I was stressed and wanted nothing that to get on that boat and leave my worries behind.  The ship left a few hours late due to weather, which worked out nicely since I was in constant communication with Kyle who was stuck at school because they had stopped the bus service due to the tornadoes.  Poor kid sat at school for another 2 1/2 hours until my Mom picked him up.

We had a wonderful time, and Cozumel was absolutely beautiful.  Here are a few pictures for you to have a look at!



Sunset from our balcony



Kim and Bill




Jeff first thing in the morning




Our boat while docked in Cozumel.  My camera lens was foggy because our room had been so cold and it was 90 outside.




Jeff and I on the beach in Cozumel




The beach.  The color of the water was amazing!





We visited this alligator area.  The guys whistle and the gators swim over.  It was insane.





Towel art.  Mr Elephant




Towel Art



 We drove around for the day in this buggy.  Kim and I held on for dear life!





Biltmore Day 2 Cont'd

After visiting Biltmore for the day, we went back to the Inn to freshen up, grab a snack because we weren't schedule for dinner until 8 p.m., and add a few more layers to our clothing since we were going through Biltmore at night for the Candlelight tour.

So, back to Biltmore we went to visit it at night.

The trees were lit all around.  See the tiny white bags everywhere?  Those were candles, that once it was completely dark, they were lit everywhere.  They went on for a few miles up and down the drive and along the walls and home.

They alter the house a bit for the candlelight tour.  As you entered there was a chorus singing Christmas music in the solarium.  All of the trees in each of the rooms was lit, including the giant 40 foot tree in the banquet hall.  It really was something to see.

Biltmore House at night.

After the tour, we went back to the Inn and changed for dinner in the Dining Room.  We were both hungry after a long day of walking.  The Dining Room is located in the Inn, on the bottom floor.

Stairway to the Dining Room

Dining Room

After we were seated, our server, Lisa came over to discuss our menu options.  Since we had meals included in our stay, she recommended the Chef's Tasting Menu.  A five course meal w/wine pairings.  You don't know what the Chef will cook for you, you have to put your trust in him.  We decided to take her up on her recommendation, let go of our inhibitions and let someone else decide what we would eat.

This is how our courses went.

First Course:  Roasted Quail with Spiced Pear, Arugula Salad and Cider Syrup

Second Course:  Seared Scallop with Fennel Mousseline, Orange Salad, Citrus Reduction

Third Course:  Pan Seared Trout with Caramelized Leek Bread Pudding, Broccoli Raab, Celery Root and Banyuls Vinegar

Pallet Cleanser:  Raspberry sorbet w/berries and Champagne (all I can say about this was YUM!)

Fourth Course: Mustard Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Silver Corn Grits, Winter Vegetable Hash, Apple Rosemary Reduction (The Chef actually won the NC Iron Chef competition with this dish, and he deserved it!)

Fifth Course:  Dessert, was an apple tart with, I think, Cinnamon Ice Cream.  By this point I was so full from wine and food, I could barely concentrate!

I cannot express how wonderful this dinner was.  I love good food.  And this was by far, some of the best food I have ever had!  We went back to our room collapsed and went to bed happy!

P.S.  Don't forget it's Sunday!


Relax and Surf Sunday



Biltmore Day 2

Day 2 of our visit to Biltmore, started out at the Main House.  It is really impressive to see.  You travel up this wooded winding 2 mile road and all of a sudden, there it is.  You can't see it the entire trip up. 

I can only imagine what people thought when it opened in 1895.  As impressive as it is to see now, back then it must have been amazing to see.  The house had full plumbing and electricity from the first day it was built.

We decided that first we would walk up the giant hill in front of the home.  Doesn't look too bad from this shot.

This is really how far away we were.  It was a steep climb, but so worth the view.  And as we were the only ones up there, I had to set the timer on the camera to get this shot. 

They turned the old stable area into shops and small cafe's.  The area above the stables with the windows were the male servant quarters.  One thing I found interesting was the clock on top of the stables.

This clock was the main clock for all servants.  All of the clocks in the servant areas of the house were wired and linked to this clock.  That way, all clocks had the same time and no one would have an excuse to be late. 

We took a walk around the side of the house and into the garden area.  From here the house almost looks like a large home instead of the 4 acres of living space that it actually is!

You are not allowed to photograph the interior of the home.  They are trying to preserve how the home looked at the time it was lived in and even with the amount of people entering every day, they have done a great job.

Jeff and I also took a Behind the Scenes Tour of how the servants lived and worked at Biltmore.  It was my favorite part!  You learn to understand that wall color would let you know if you were in a servants area or a guest area.  We traveled to the basement to view the huge coal furnaces that heated the home.  Can't imagine having that job!

There isn't enough information that they can currently piece together in regards to what it cost to build the home.  However, there are two elevators in the home.  One is the servant elevator that stops at every level from the basement up.  From discussions with Otis Elevators, they know that elevator cost $250 fully installed back in 1894!

Day 2 will have to be split into two posts!  Wait until you hear about our dinner!  Oh my!

Biltmore Day 1

Biltmore Inn

I have wanted to visit Biltmore for quite some time.  We were supposed to go in the spring, but weather and work deterred our trip.

Having found fantastic prices for airfare, I jumped off the ledge and booked us a trip to Asheville, NC for December staying on Biltmore property at the Biltmore Inn.  It would just be Jeff and I getting away for a weekend.  I cannot express how excited I was about this trip!

We arrived at Biltmore Inn and this was the first clue I had to how cold it was going to be.

Waterfall in front of Biltmore Inn and yes, it is frozen

Frozen Waterfall

There is a huge waterfall in the center of the driveway at Biltmore Inn.  It didn't feel that cold outside to me, but seeing that allowed me to rethink my ideas of what is cold.

It is a well known fact to those that know me, that I don't do well in the heat.  I know, I know, what the heck am I doing living in Florida then?!  That just boils down to moving here when I was in High School, going to college here, getting married here, and now having a child in High School here.  There is no way out for me!  So, I was a happy camper to be in the cold! 

After parking the car, we entered the lobby.  All I can say is WOW!

This was the Inn made out of cake!

The Inn truly was beautiful.  Elegance was everywhere, and the staff went above and beyond what you would normally expect at a hotel.

Terrace Room on the 1st Floor

Since we got in later than expected due to a delay in Atlanta, (now there's a surprise!) we just hung around the Inn until dinner.  We walked down to the Bistro for dinner.  It looked a lot closer than it turned out to be when we decided to walk.  It wouldn't have been bad except that it was around 25 degrees outside.  Needless to say, the next few days we either drove around the property ourselves or took the shuttle service!

The food was fantastic and after a long day of traveling we were both ready for bed.  We had a big day planned for Friday which included a day tour of Biltmore, Candlelight tour of Biltmore, Servant Behind the Scenes tour and dinner at The Dining Room. 

Tomorrow I will publish photos from our visit to Biltmore and photos of The Dining Room!